Kid close-ups

I had the camera out today, to put the regular lens back on.  The big zoom lens was on from Laine's school chapel (pictures to follow).

But before I could switch it back, the girls asked if they could take pictures of each other.  Laine got a great one of Mead - no cropping or anything!

Mead got a decent one of Laine, though I had to crop out the top 75%, which was blank wall :-)

And then I stepped way back and got a cute one of both girls in their Christmas dresses.  Not bad for a spontaneous photo shoot!

Christmas Cuties

Mead's class was extra small the other day.  And they all ended up wearing Christmas colors!

She is loving her time at school so much.

Redeeming all things...

... Including a nasty, old basketball hoop.

For over three years we've ignored the yucky basketball hoop that came with the house at the end of our driveway.  It was 10 feet tall, had fragments of a torn net hanging from it, along with a baseball-sized hole in the middle of the backboard, and was covered in black and green mold and fungus.  What's not to ignore??

Well, after seeing how much Cole loved his little indoor basketball hoop, I decided it was worth trying to fix up our outdoor hoop too.  Penny lowered it, I scrubbed it with soap and bleach, bought a new net and a couple of balls at Play It Again Sports, and it works great!  The hole is still there, but for less than $10 we redeemed the rest of it - not too shabby!

And it's been so much fun playing basketball with the kids and as a family, even on these cool December days.

Enjoying the Christmas Tree

We waited until December to put our tree up, but now that it's in our living room the kids have loved looking at it.

They all ended up wearing Christmas colors the other night.

Serious silliness!

There is something almost magical about a Christmas tree - even Cole knows to be gentle while enjoying it.

Chess

We've had several nights of this lately.  So excited for the girls (and Cole, too, eventually) to learn to play chess with their dad!

(Laine is not falling asleep, just deep in thought)

Already?

Does this mean Cole wants me to start potty training him?  I hope not... I just don't have it in me.  Not yet.  Sorry, buddy, I'm going to ignore your occasional interest in playing with the froggy potty and hope it's purely a toy to you.  Play on, little man!  Maybe in the summer we'll talk about this...

Thanksgiving chapel

Laine participated in the Thanksgiving Chapel at school for the first time this year.  Each year it is tradition for the kindergartners and first graders to put on a simple play about Thanksgiving.  

The students in Laine's class were pilgrims - she looks so cute here.  Perhaps she should dress like a pilgrim more often?!

The first graders were indians.

Laine practiced her line many times, and she said it nice and clearly with her classmate.

The play was a hit - enthusiasm and hard work paid off beautifully!